http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com Politics and Food: Essentials Sun, 05 Jan 2014 02:51:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.1 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/742/politics/us-economy-politics/picking-on-the-most-vulnerable/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/742/politics/us-economy-politics/picking-on-the-most-vulnerable/#comments Sun, 05 Jan 2014 02:51:18 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=742 It is with some trepidation that I, a non-Christian, address the Fox News/GOP Right/Tea Partiers’ criticism of Pope Francis’ recent comments on income inequality, the need to address the needs of the poor and criticism of unfettered capitalism as not being sufficiently engaged. Predictably, the talking heads at Fox and some far right politicians have […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/742/politics/us-economy-politics/picking-on-the-most-vulnerable/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/737/uncategorized/life-and-memories/wherein-i-acknowledge-some-really-fine-people/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/737/uncategorized/life-and-memories/wherein-i-acknowledge-some-really-fine-people/#comments Sun, 29 Dec 2013 01:55:04 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=737 As a devout and constant liberal (!), I have a priori assumption that in any employer-employee relationship, the latter is on the side of angels. The Supreme Court has decided that corporations have many of the rights and privileges as people; I have questioned in the past whether this “personhood” conferred a social conscience. After […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/737/uncategorized/life-and-memories/wherein-i-acknowledge-some-really-fine-people/feed/ 1 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/734/politics/the-war-on-christmas/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/734/politics/the-war-on-christmas/#comments Sat, 28 Dec 2013 21:28:01 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=734 The “War on Christmas” has been settled. Both Christmases. The frost is on the pumpkin, or at least in Florida we have had our first cold snap of the winter. The temperature plummeted to the high 60’s for a few days. The season has, as in years past, brought word of hostility, of war that […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/734/politics/the-war-on-christmas/feed/ 1 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/729/politics/easier-access-to-guns-a-solution-to-gun-killings/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/729/politics/easier-access-to-guns-a-solution-to-gun-killings/#comments Sun, 01 Dec 2013 21:17:08 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=729 Easier access to guns a solution to gun killings? A fellow scribbler implied as much. In an essay posted to the Tampa Bay Mensa publication, Soundings, he writes, The question is; how did a single mentally-disturbed man with a gun but no training, helmet, or body armor shoot his way into an airport concourse? After […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/729/politics/easier-access-to-guns-a-solution-to-gun-killings/feed/ 3 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/719/conspiracy-theories/impeachment-is-a-serious-step-not-to-be-squandered-by-tea-parties/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/719/conspiracy-theories/impeachment-is-a-serious-step-not-to-be-squandered-by-tea-parties/#comments Sun, 10 Nov 2013 23:32:13 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=719 In the 225 year existence of the United States, two presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson following the Civil War and Bill Clinton. (Articles of Impeachment were approved in a House Committee concerning Richard Nixon; they were never presented to the House of Representatives for a vote. as President Nixon resigned before this could be […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/719/conspiracy-theories/impeachment-is-a-serious-step-not-to-be-squandered-by-tea-parties/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/714/politics/health-care-reform/perspective-on-the-affordable-care-act/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/714/politics/health-care-reform/perspective-on-the-affordable-care-act/#comments Sun, 03 Nov 2013 16:44:55 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=714 It’s time to put the rollout of the Affordable Care Act sign up-process in perspective. In fact, it’s way overdue. There are a number of discrete issues that have been raised by both supporters and detractors of the president. The first of these revolves around difficulties in applying for coverage by accessing the website. There […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/714/politics/health-care-reform/perspective-on-the-affordable-care-act/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/709/politics/what-we-have-to-look-forward-to-and-its-not-pleasant/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/709/politics/what-we-have-to-look-forward-to-and-its-not-pleasant/#comments Sat, 26 Oct 2013 13:34:18 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=709 In 2009, I penned an essay suggesting that the far-right conservatives, members or supporters of the Tea Parties, were so nutty that Americans would send them to the dust heap of lost and forgotten political movements. I sarcastically urged that we really have to feel sorry for the Right fringe; perhaps we should each pick […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/709/politics/what-we-have-to-look-forward-to-and-its-not-pleasant/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/700/politics/theres-always-hope/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/700/politics/theres-always-hope/#comments Tue, 22 Oct 2013 12:47:19 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=700 Don’t ever give up! Eighteen months ago, I was discharged from Florida Hospital, after repeated admissions over the past two years for, among other things, broken humerus, pelvis and wrist bones, blood clots in the lungs and leg and pneumonia. After each hospital release I was weaker than before and, by the latest discharge, I […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/700/politics/theres-always-hope/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/688/politics/the-confluence-of-paranoia-fear-gullibility-and-often-bigotry-and-hate/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/688/politics/the-confluence-of-paranoia-fear-gullibility-and-often-bigotry-and-hate/#comments Mon, 14 Oct 2013 14:35:50 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=688 During the past several years, there have been many rumors, items on Facebook, blog entries and forwarded email, coming from people whom I would consider educated and rational. I am not absolutely clear on why this has happened, but there seems no question that it has been influenced by the constant drumbeat of blather and […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/688/politics/the-confluence-of-paranoia-fear-gullibility-and-often-bigotry-and-hate/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/681/politics/a-mediterraneanlebanese-dining-treat-fresh-bites/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/681/politics/a-mediterraneanlebanese-dining-treat-fresh-bites/#comments Sun, 13 Oct 2013 09:38:38 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=681 Until a short time ago, if I were asked about my favorite ethnic food, I would have responded, “Italian”. I am a spaghetti-junky; with added meatballs and sausage, I am in food nirvana. A small family restaurant in a strip center in Tampa’s Westchase has made me revisit my opinions. Fresh Bites is owned by […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/681/politics/a-mediterraneanlebanese-dining-treat-fresh-bites/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/672/politics/whose-constitution-isit-that-they-love/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/672/politics/whose-constitution-isit-that-they-love/#comments Thu, 03 Oct 2013 20:27:44 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=672 Notwithstanding the repeated assertion by GOP officials that they absolutely love the Constitution, a copy of which is pulled from a jacket pocket at every opportunity and brandished to prove devotion, it is patently obvious that it must be some other nation’s constitution. The object of such proclaimed reverence cannot be the 1787 document with […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/672/politics/whose-constitution-isit-that-they-love/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/661/politics/enough-time-to-address-a-public-health-issue/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/661/politics/enough-time-to-address-a-public-health-issue/#comments Sat, 21 Sep 2013 18:58:13 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=661 The most frightening aspect of the mass shootings and deaths at the Washington Navy Yard is that we have come to accept gun violence as normal and usual in the United States. This time, a person with a past history of mental instability and shooting incidents, used a legally acquired shot gun to slaughter 12 […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/661/politics/enough-time-to-address-a-public-health-issue/feed/ 2 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/656/politics/the-syrian-imbroglio/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/656/politics/the-syrian-imbroglio/#comments Tue, 10 Sep 2013 15:06:53 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=656 The title of these essays is, “Always Positive, Sometimes Right.” This somewhat self-deprecating phrase is put to the test by events in Syria, its apparent use of chemical weapons against its own citizens, the administration’s outrage and actions to be taken, if any. There are reasonable and cogent arguments with regard to the use of […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/656/politics/the-syrian-imbroglio/feed/ 2 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/649/politics/why-i-am-a-liberal/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/649/politics/why-i-am-a-liberal/#comments Mon, 19 Aug 2013 23:16:12 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=649 One of the worst political epithets is “Liberal”. I am an unabashed liberal, or “progressive” if one prefers. Moreover, I believe that most thinking Americans are basically “liberal” – even if the term has been vilified by the Right. The traditional role of the conservative movement in the United States has been to put a […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/649/politics/why-i-am-a-liberal/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/644/uncategorized/news-uncategorized/privacy-lost/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/644/uncategorized/news-uncategorized/privacy-lost/#comments Tue, 06 Aug 2013 18:24:37 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=644 Edward Snowden, former contractor with the United States National Security Agency and a former CIA employee, leaked details of several top-secret United States and British government mass surveillance programs to the press. He has been accused of espionage and theft of government property and is considered a traitor for exposing the extent of the surveillance […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/644/uncategorized/news-uncategorized/privacy-lost/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/636/cultures-and-lifestyles/a-right-to-marry/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/636/cultures-and-lifestyles/a-right-to-marry/#comments Fri, 05 Jul 2013 00:11:58 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=636 The Supreme Court handed down two rulings last month dealing with the legality and effect of same-sex marriage. The first, United States v Windsor, held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. Federal agencies could not deny benefits to same-sex couples that were allowed to married heterosexual couples. This ruling should […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/636/cultures-and-lifestyles/a-right-to-marry/feed/ 2 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/627/cultures-and-lifestyles/627/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/627/cultures-and-lifestyles/627/#comments Mon, 01 Jul 2013 15:50:07 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=627 Several weeks ago, my wife [often referred to in these essays as The Lovely Joan or TLJ for short] and I drove from Tampa to Sanford, Florida, to take the Amtrak Auto Train to just south of the District of Columbia and, thence, to visit family and friends on the New Jersey shore. Tropical Storm […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/627/cultures-and-lifestyles/627/feed/ 1 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/624/cultures-and-lifestyles/humbled-and-excited-about-the-next-generation/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/624/cultures-and-lifestyles/humbled-and-excited-about-the-next-generation/#comments Sat, 29 Jun 2013 22:23:32 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=624 I have in my wallet a blue-gray plastic card that, when viewed at an angle, sparkles brightly. At the very top the word MENSA certifies to the entire universe that I am able to chew gum and walk at the same time. I am not so sure. My children and grandchildren have induced my doubts […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/624/cultures-and-lifestyles/humbled-and-excited-about-the-next-generation/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/619/politics/the-activist-supreme-court-under-john-roberts/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/619/politics/the-activist-supreme-court-under-john-roberts/#comments Thu, 27 Jun 2013 19:34:18 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=619 On June 25, 2013, the U. S. Supreme Court invalidated portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Chief Justice Roberts, writing for the Court, stated the rationale and purpose of the law signed by President Johnson nearly 50 years ago: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 employed extraordinary measures to address an extraordinary problem. […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/619/politics/the-activist-supreme-court-under-john-roberts/feed/ 0 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/615/politics/the-minimum-wage-benefits-everyone/ http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/615/politics/the-minimum-wage-benefits-everyone/#comments Wed, 05 Jun 2013 23:54:06 +0000 http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/?p=615 A very conservative fellow-scribbler characterizes those favoring increases in the federal minimum wage as Democrat-liberals concerned with keeping the “lower classes . . . impoverished, ignorant, and addicted to government welfare programs [so they will] . . . turn out on election day.” That simplistic and cynical viewpoint is not supported by an April, 2013, […]]]> http://jimspoliticalcertainty.worldblogosphere.com/615/politics/the-minimum-wage-benefits-everyone/feed/ 3